Masters

Apprentices

Yaddle, also known as "The One Below", was a renowned Jedi Master, who went on to serve the Jedi High Council for over a century before her death in 26 BBY during a peacekeeping mission to Mawan. A member of the same species as fellow Councilor Yoda, but about half his age, Yaddle trained dozens of Padawans in her time as a Jedi Master, including Oppo Rancisis, who would later join Yaddle on the Jedi Council, and the brash and overconfident Empatojayos Brand. After completing Brand's training, Yaddle did not take another apprentice, as she was almost five hundred years old when Brand passed the Jedi Trials for Knighthood.

During her time as a Jedi, Yaddle represented the Jedi Council on many off world missions. She went to Asmeru in 33 BBY with a group of Jedi including Vergere, Saesee Tiin, Depa Billaba and Qui-Gon Jinn, as well as his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, where they were attacked by Nebula Front members, but managed to defeat them. Yaddle was also part of a six-member team of Jedi Councilors sent on a peacekeeping mission to Malastare, to mediate a meeting between the Lannik government and Red Iaro rebels. After being attacked by Red Iaro terrorists, Yaddle saved the lives of her fellow Council members, and, although the mission was in the end unsuccessful, there were no Jedi casualties. Yaddle's final mission took place in 26 BBY. She, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker, were sent to Mawan to attempt to restore peace to the lawless world. Yaddle sacrificed her life to save the people of Mawan, using the Force to absorb a deadly chemical weapon unleashed by Granta Omega. She was then given a traditional Jedi funeral back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and was succeeded by Shaak Ti on the Jedi High Council.

Contents

"During her many years of isolation, she relived the lessons of her late Master over and over again."

―Even Piell tells the Jedi Council of Yaddle's mastery of the Force[src]

Yaddle and Polvin in battle on Koba

Almost three hundred years before the Battle of Yavin, Jedi Knight Polvin Kut and his Padawan Yaddle were dispatched to the planet Koba, located in the Colonies region of space. They had been sent to liberate the planet from the Advozsewarlord known as Tulak, who held the planet unlawfully in his tyrannical grip. Polvin Kut had planned to enlist the assistance of a small resistance movement, who were angry with Tulak's exploitation of the people of Koba. However, the two Jedi were betrayed by Tulak's spies within the Koban resistance before they had even reached Koba's outer moon. Tulak, who had come up against the Jedi many times before and held a deep hatred for the Jedi Order, set up an ambush for the two peacekeepers. The Advozse madman used his vast amounts of Koban slaves as warriors against Kut and Yaddle in battle over the Koban Gorge. Polvin Kut, who was not as completely impervious to the dark side as most Jedi, had been tracking Tulak for decades after the Advozse murdered his family. Surrounded by Tulak's slaves and soldiers, who were brandishing primitive axes and blasters, Polvin Kut let revenge affect his reactions, and, more importantly, his judgment. In an vain attempt to kill Tulak, Kut left himself open for attack, and was killed and beheaded by Tulak's slaves, leaving his Padawan Yaddle alone against dozens of vicious fighters.[6]

Yaddle was captured and imprisoned in a chamber deep beneath the ground by Tulak, and subjected to various forms of torture. However, the green-skinned Padawan did not give in to Tulak's torture, refusing to tell him when the next Jedi would arrive to challenge the brutal Advozse warlord after many interrogations. Yaddle simply replied that Tulak's reign of terror would end. Tulak, furious that Yaddle was not buckling under torture, decided to keep Yaddle as a hostage, even though she would not submit to his questioning.[6]

After reaping everything and everyone he could from the planet, Tulak decided that he had had enough of Koba, and prepared to make his way to another world, leaving his trusted marshals to watch over the remote planet. All of Tulak's previous attempts at breaking Yaddle had proved unsuccessful, and his original plan to exploit Yaddle's young naivety had failed. Rather than killing his captive, Tulak cruelly imprisoned Yaddle for life in her underground pit, in case she ever became useful as a hostage in the future.[6]

Tulak soon forgot of Polvin Kut's young apprentice, although the people of Koba did not. Yaddle's wardens taunted and jeered Yaddle through a gap in the ceiling in order to gain favor with Tulak's marshals.[6] Yaddle stayed in solitary confinement in her underground prison for over a century,[7] and her only source of provisions were the wardens, who sent down baskets of fruit and vegetables for a time, however as supplies on Koba ran low, the wardens became so preoccupied with their own survival that they slowly forgot about the "One Below". Yaddle's existence became the stuff of legend, and although a few pitiful beings continued to send food down the shaft as a sort of ritual, Yaddle relied on the Force for survival.[6]

During her many decades of isolation, Yaddle reflected upon the lessons of her late Master again and again—she embraced and eventually achieved unity with the Force. Many vicious predators wandered into Yaddle's cave, and she too learned the art of combat—an aspect of the Force she had little experience in—for survival, using a simple wooden stick to defeat vicious creatures several times her size.[6] It was during these years that she became known as the "One Below" by the Kobans.[2]

Yaddle had resigned to the fact that she could not escape, and had come to peace with herself, when Yaddle was presented with an opportunity for escape. Large shifts in the planet's mantle had caused powerful earthquakes all over Koba. The impoverished people of Koba, still recovering from Tulak's tyrannical reign, were not prepared for such natural disasters, and could do nothing to stop the remains of their once-spectacular civilization fall to pieces. An earthquake caused a minor avalanche in Yaddle's pit, and for the first time in over a century, the young Jedi Padawan saw daylight. Yaddle's happiness at finally escaping did not last long. She sensed suffering and despair all around her—what had remained after the various famines and plagues had now been decimated by the earthquakes.[6]

Yaddle had long since forgiven the past generations of Kobans who had acted as her jailers, and she felt deeply sorry for the people who were suffering because of Tulak's oppressive time in charge. She provided as much help to the Kobans as she possibly could, and, with the Kobans struggling to rebuild their broken society, Yaddle declined a request to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to resume her Jedi training, declaring that she would not return while her work on Koba remaining unfinished.[6]

Although the work was difficult, and the resources had been almost depleted, the people of Koba were inspired to continue rebuilding their broken world by Yaddle's spirit and dedication. They built a bridge in Polvin Kut's name over the gorge he had been killed in, in honor of the late Jedi Knight. Yaddle became the savior of the Koban population, but she refused to accept any honors or rewards. She worked with the children of Koba, teaching them what she had learned as a Jedi Padawan.[6]

Tulak's son, Kalut, had replaced his father as warlord, and had come to Koba to claim his inheritance. Kalut was even more ruthless than his father, and intended to take whatever was worth taking from the devastated planet, and then leave it for good. He fired upon the villages, destroying much of what the Kobans had rebuilt. Kalut and his fellow Advozse soldiers arrived at Yaddle's village, disgusted at the poor condition the villagers were in. Deciding they would be useless as slaves or warriors, Kalut stole the Kobans few valuables. Although the Kobans were too weak to fight, Yaddle was not. She challenged Kalut, and when he refused to leave the Kobans in peace, Yaddle engaged him in a duel. Yaddle, using only the wooden stick with which she had honed her combat abilities during her imprisonment, defeated the Advozse dictator, liberating the Koban people.[6]

"Doubt I will always have, strict Jedi tradition this is not. But the path to the dark side is not one Yaddle will travel, I think. The council speaks with many voices. I am but one. To the fold, you are welcome."

―Yoda, granting Yaddle the rank of Master and a place on the High Council[src]

Yaddle sitting in her chair in the Jedi High Council Chambers.

When Yaddle returned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Jedi Council determined that she had achieved unity with the Force and that she did not need any additional training. The Council proposed that Yaddle be elevated to the position of Jedi Master, and offered a seat on the Jedi Council, even though she was still a Padawan. Master Yoda, feeling that it was too strong a deviance from the typical Jedi Code and Jedi training, was the only Council member against Yaddle's elevation. However, through examining her story and through a quick glimpse into her future, Yoda backed down,[6] and allowed Yaddle to join the ranks of the Jedi Council despite still having some doubts.[8]

Yaddle was eventually appointed as the head of the Librarians' Assembly, working with curator Ashka Boda to maintain the Jedi Temple's vast collections of various holocrons, scrolls and Sith artifacts,[1] as well as gathering and studying new books and artifacts to increase Jedi learning. Under Yaddle's leadership, the assembly increased the collection, and made several important discoveries.[3]

When not at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Yaddle stayed at the auxiliary Jedi training center at Kamparas, offering important lessons to initiates who did not live at the Temple full time.[1][8]

"Much time I have spent in the Jedi Archives. The journals of Tharence Wo are little known, but contain an important fact—the Yinchorri share with the Hutts and a few other species a specific trait…immune they are to mental manipulation by the Force"

In 33 BBY, Yaddle was part of the council who sent a number of Jedi to the Yinchorri system to deal with the troublesome Yinchorri. Yaddle's knowledge of the journals of Tharence Wo, which contained the little known fact that the Yinchorri, like the Hutts, were completely immune to mental manipulation by the Force. Several teams of Jedi were sent to the Yinchorri system to deal with the crisis, including many Council members, but Yaddle stayed behind with some of the less military-minded Councilors, including her former Padawan Oppo Rancisis, Quermian Master Yarael Poof and Grand Master Yoda.[9]

With many of the Jedi Councilors gone, and with the Yinchorri being manipulated by a third party, the Jedi Temple was attacked by a group of Yinchorri. The Yinchorri warriors killed Temple guard Jude Rozess, however when they advanced further they found a group of over dozen Jedi waiting for them, with their lightsabers drawn. Yaddle, wielding a green shoto lightsaber helped defeat the vicious invaders.[9]

After the Yinchorri were all killed, Yaddle went to further study the holocron of Tharence Wo, as the teams of Jedi had not discovered the Yinchorri commander center which they were searching for. Tharence Wo mentioned a fourth, unknown world; a lifeless rock named Uhanayih known as "within world" in the Yinchorri tongue. Yaddle, as well as Tharence Wo, had previously assumed the world to have only mythological meanings. However, with the command center still undiscovered Yaddle began to wonder if the name was used literally, and that the command center might have been inside the fourth planet.[9]

She told the Jedi Council of her suspicions, but they were interrupted by a message from Master Windu. The teams of Jedi had located the hiding place of the command center, and Yaddle's theory was correct; the Yinchorri headquarters were located inside a lifeless world close to the Yinchorri sun. The Jedi on Yinchorri were successful, but the mission was not without its losses. Padawan Theen Fida, Knight Lilit Twoseas and Councilor Micah Giiett had all perished on the mission.[9]

Yaddle was present on the Jedi High Council when they were confronted by Qui-Gon Jinn, who claimed that he had found a boy who he believed to be the prophesied Chosen One. The Council later tested the boy, named Anakin Skywalker, and found him to be incredibly gifted in the ways of the Force, but vulnerable to the dark side of the Force. Jinn refused to accept their denial of the boy, they then sent him on a new mission to Naboo.

For some reason, Yaddle, Oppo Rancisis and Yarael Poof were the only Jedi Councilors to remain at the Jedi Temple when Qui-Gon was killed by the mysterious Sith Warrior, Darth Maul.

In 32 BBY Yaddle participated in a Jedi mission during the time of the Eriadu Trade Summit.[10] Soon after, Yaddle, along with the other Jedi Masters on the Council, was confronted by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi. She watched as Qui-Gon requested that young Anakin Skywalker be tested for admission into the Jedi Order. According to Jinn, the boy was the Chosen One of the Jedi prophecy. After testing the boy, the Council decided that the boy was not to be trained due to the emotional attachment to his mother.[5]

Several years later, Yaddle volunteered to travel to the Mid Rim planet of Malastare to mediate negotiations between the government of Lannik and a terrorist organization known as the Red Iaro. The people of Lannik had endured a devastating war against the Red Iaro for several years, with heavy casualties on each side. In 32 BBY, the Red Iaro declared a stalemate, wanting to begin the peace process and rebuild the planet. It was decided that the negotiations should take place on a neutral planet, and the Gran governors of Malastare expressed interest in hosting the meetings. The Judicial Department of the Chancellor requested that Jedi be sent to the jungle-planet to act as arbiters between the two groups. Six Council members volunteered to go—Yaddle, Plo Koon, Even Piell, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia and Ki-Adi-Mundi, as well as Mundi's Padawan, A'Sharad Hett.[11]

Unknown to the Jedi, one of their hosts, the Gran senatorAks Moe, had allied himself with the Red Iaro, as well as a seedy religious organization known as the Order of the Ffib. The leader of the Red Iaro, Myk'chur Finux Zug, had agreed to give the Gran corporations access to Lannik's unspoiled resources if Moe helped them get into power. The Gran senator had organized the meetings at the same time as Phoebos Memorial Run, one of the most prestigious Podraces on Malastare, to draw attention away from the negotiations.[11]

After departing their Jedi cruiser on the surface of Malastare, Yaddle and the other Jedi were escorted to their quarters by Gran senators Baskol Yeesrim and Ainlee Teem. As they walked through one of the Gran's many palaces, Master Yaddle, as well as Even Piell and Adi Gallia sensed that they were being followed. Piell and Adi Gallia doubled-back, and confronted the two men, a Ffib priest and a Red Iaro rebel, who, after firing on the pair of Jedi Councilors, fled. After informing their Gran hosts of the attack, Yaddle and the others continued on towards their quarters.[11]

Afterward, a group of Gamorrean guards employed by Aks Moe attacked A'Sharad Hett, who reacted angrily, igniting his two crimson lightsabers, prepared to attack the Gamorreans. Yaddle stopped the Padawan from lashing out, using the Force to confuse the green-skinned humanoids, who took their places in the hall again. Yaddle told Hett that she could have easily defeated them, but that a peaceful resolution was always better than a non-peaceful one.[11]

When the negotiations commenced, with Aks Moe as the adjudicator, neither the Lannik Prince R'cardo Sooflie IX, nor the Red Iaro leader took the Jedi seriously. The negotiations quickly broke down, despite the efforts of Yaddle and her fellow Jedi, and they adjourned the meeting until the next day, not long after it had began. The military adviser to the Lannik Prince, Hutar Zash, offered the seven Jedi transport in his two speeders. On the way to their destination, the Lannik drivers turned on the Jedi. To the Jedi's surprise, Hutar and the others revealed their allegiance to the Red Iaro, and showed the Jedi explosives strapped to their chests. While Yaddle's group managed to defeat the rebels in their speeder, the other team did not fare so well. Even Piell, Mace Windu and Adi Gallia were thrown off the speeder, and eventually caught onto part of a Podracer belonging to the DugSebulba. Sebulba managed to shake them off, but Adi Gallia managed to fire a grappling hook at the podracer. However, the wire was severed when Aldar Beedo's attempt to shoot Sebulba missed. With the Jedi seemingly plummeting to their deaths, Yaddle took control of the other speeder, piloting it below the three falling Jedi, saving their lives.[11]

Yaddle's sacrifice

Knowing the Red Iaro had gone too far to back out, the Jedi set a course for the Lannik prince's quarters, expecting to find Red Iaro assassins there. They jumped off the speeder and smashed through the ornate glass roof, lightsabers drawn. Several Red Iaro terrorists, including their leader, Zug, and two Ffib priests were in the Lannik's chambers, as well as two Akk dogs that Zug had let loose. The Jedi defeated the terrorists, and Yaddle saved Adi Gallia's life, killing an Akk dog that was attacking her by stabbing it through the eye. The Jedi apprehended the head Ffib priest, but Zug managed to escape, using a jet-pack to propel himself out of the building, through the sizable hole in the roof left by the Jedi. However, Zug did not get far—he was sucked into the engine of a podracer, and died instantly. The corrupt Grannish senator Aks Moe, accompanied by several Gran soldiers, arrived just after Zug's death, feigning that he had no knowledge of the plot to kill the prince. He told the Jedi that the negotiations were over, and that they must leave at once. Mace Windu went to Nar Shaddaa to stop those responsible for smuggling the Akk dogs from their homeworld, while Yaddle and the others returned the surviving Akk dog back to Haruun Kal.[11]

In 26 BBY, Yaddle was sent to Mawan along with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. Their mission was to try to restore peace to the lawless planet. However, Yaddle sacrificed her life for those of the people of Mawan, by using the Force to absorb a bioweapon released by Granta Omega, which killed her instantly. By doing so, she saved the city of Naatan. Yaddle was 483 years old at the time of her death.[2] Yaddle was the last Jedi Council member to die before the Clone Wars, with her place being filled by Shaak Ti.[12]

Over time, Yaddle's personal collection of artifacts and trinkets grew so large that she could fill several rooms with them. She became one of the most revered members of the Jedi Order,[1] and her fellow Jedi would often consult her for her wisdom and knowledge on many subjects.[3] She came to be known as one of the most compassionate and thoughtful Jedi Masters.[8] In fact, Yaddle was so compassionate that she helped the people of Koba rebuild their society even though they had trapped her in a cave for a century. Instead of resenting the Kobans, she felt sorry for them.

Yaddle in her Jedi High Council seat

Yaddle was also a mentor to many of the students in the Jedi Order, offering help and advice to troubled students. She was also known to have turned a blind eye to any pranks the younglings would make, and even to have slipped sweets in their pockets.[2]

Yaddle rarely spoke, but when she did, she spoke in anastrophe, the same unusual way as fellow council member Yoda, placing verbs after the object and subject.[11][9] Yaddle used as few words as possible when speaking on the Jedi High Council, and had the habit of summing up conclusions that the other Council members would have reached eventually.[13]

Yaddle's exposure to little-known aspects of the Force granted her powers rarely used by Jedi, including the ancient and forbidden Jedi combat art of Morichro, a technique which enabled the user to rapidly slow down the bodily functions of its target to the point of death.[14] The Jedi Council felt that Morichro was too dangerous to be taught to the Order as a whole, and so it was restricted to only a handful of Jedi Masters. This, and many other dark secrets, were kept securely by Yaddle and her colleagues in the Jedi Library.[3]

Yaddle was also known for possessing the extremely rare Force Light power, being the only known Jedi of her time who was able to use the power.[15]

A Jedi Consular,[15] she was not as martial as many of her fellow councilors,[1] although after being promoted to Jedi Master she became one of few Jedi to wield an orange lightsaber.[11] Despite her preference of using the Force in battle, Yaddle was highly proficient in Forms 3 and 4 of lightsaber combat, Soresu and Ataru, ranking as one of the most skilled duelists in the Jedi Order. Yaddle was also an expert pilot, as she showed when she saved her fellow Jedi on Malastare shortly after the Battle of Naboo.[11]

In addition, to all this, Yaddle was able to stop Granta Omega's evil scheme to poison the planet Mawan with a chemical weapon, showing amazing speed, alacrity and apptitude of the Force. Under the ground, Yaddle was able to break the cuffs on Anakin Skywalker's arms before Omega could administer the lethal charge, then jumped through the launch tube after the chemical bomb. She suspended herself in the air then spoke to Anakin telepathically, about his destiny as the Chosen One and how he must live up to his responsibility. With these last wise words, Yaddle used the Force to absorb the bomb into herself, imploding and unfortunately dying, making sure that nobody on Mawan would be exposed to the lethal chemical explosion. Skywalker himself never felt such a massive use of the Force, as Yaddle drew it into herself like a web.[2]